Research Publications (Food Safety)

Trichophyton rubrum (T. rubrum) is anthropophilic fungus and thus a very common cause of dermatophyte infections around the world. Infection of T. rubrum could result in conditions such as tinea capitis, tinea corporis, tinea inguinalis, tinea manus, tinea unguium, or tinea pedis. Because of this, the resistance of T. rubrum to antifungal therapies has drawn extensive research interest. However, the pathogenic characteristics of T.

Chimney sweeps have higher incidence and mortality of cardiovascular disease (CVD), likely related to their exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In order to identify underlying mechanisms of PAH-related CVD, we here investigated whether PAH exposure was associated with levels of putative CVD-related proteins in serum among currently working chimney sweeps. We enrolled 116 chimney sweeps and 125 unexposed controls, all nonsmoking male workers from Sweden.

This in vitro study evaluated the “triple protocol” of dry decontamination, the ladder pipe system (a method for gross decontamination), and technical decontamination for the decontamination of hair following chemical contamination. First, we assessed the efficacy of the 3 protocols, alone or in combination, on excised porcine skin and human hair contaminated with either methyl salicylate (MS), phorate (PHR), sodium fluoroacetate (SFA), or potassium cyanide (KCN).

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of some common combination of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) on growth performance, gut health, and meat quality was evaluated during the medication and withdrawal period in broilers. A total of 540 male Arbor Acre broilers at 0 D of age were randomly assigned to 5 treatments, with 6 replicates of 18 chicks.

Background Drug-resistant minority variants (DRMinVs) detected in patients who recently acquired human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) can be transmitted, generated de novo through virus replication, or technical errors. The first form is likely to persist and result in treatment failure, while the latter two could be stochastic and transient.

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency issued warnings on the use of dolutegravir and darunavir/cobicistat for treatment of pregnant women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It took 3–5 years to identify the risks associated with the use of these antiretroviral drugs, during which time pregnant women were exposed to these drugs in clinical care, outside of controlled clinical trial settings.

Spent lead paste is the main component in lead-acid batteries reaching end of life. It contains about 55% lead sulphate and 35% lead dioxide, as well as minor amounts of lead oxide. It is necessary to recycle spent lead paste with minimal pollution and low energy consumption instead of the conventional smelting method.

The adverse health consequences of environmental, occupational, and dietary exposure to either diethylnitrosamine (DEN) or cadmium (Cd) have been widely investigated. However, because most environmental exposures to xenobiotics do not occur in isolation but in mixtures, the effects of simultaneous exposure to both DEN and Cd on hepatorenal function deserves investigation.

The aim of this study was to examine whether a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ agonist could affect cadmium (Cd)-induced cytotoxicity via the increased expression of megalin, one of the uptake pathways, using renal epithelial LLC-PK1 cells.

Environmental pollution is significant and oftentimes hazardous in the areas, where mining, foundries and smelters and other metallurgical operations are located. Systematic research on the chronic effects of metals started during the past century; nevertheless, it is evident that even today, there are large gaps in knowledge regarding the assessment of the health effects caused by environmental and occupational exposures to these metals.

Background: Missile-related blood lead elevations and toxicity are well documented in the literature but reports on its associated risk factor(s) are few.
Objective: To determine if bone fracture(s) contribute to an elevated lead blood level.

There is a global concern about adverse health effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogenic and obesogenic compound, used in the plastic and medical industry has a dominant position among EDCs as far as human health and regulatory scenario are concerned. Due to its omnipresence across the biosphere, population of all age groups and health status is unavoidably exposed to BPA. Transgenerational exposure to BPA and its effects have also been recognized.

The foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes can modulate its transcriptome and proteome to ensure its survival during transmission through vastly differing environmental conditions. While L.

Staphylococcus aureus has evolved a complex regulatory network that controls a multitude of defense mechanisms against the deleterious effects of oxidative stress stimuli subsequently leading to the pathogen's survival and persistence in the hosts. Previously, we characterized the msaABCR operon as a regulator of virulence, antibiotic resistance, and the formation of persister cells in S. aureus.

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular gammaproteobacterium and zoonotic agent of Q fever. We previously identified 15 small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) of C. burnetii. One of them, CbsR12 (Coxiella b urnetii small RNA 12), is highly transcribed during axenic growth and becomes more prominent during infection of cultured mammalian cells. Secondary structure predictions of CbsR12 revealed four putative CsrA-binding sites in stem loops with consensus AGGA/ANGGA motifs.

Production of flagella is costly and subject to global, multi-layered regulation. This is reflected in the hierarchical control of flagellar production in many bacterial species. For Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and its relatives, global regulation of flagellar production primarily occurs through control of flhDC transcription and mRNA translation.

Campylobacter is among the four main causes of gastroenteritis worldwide and has increased in both developed and developing countries over the last 10 years. The vast majority of reported Campylobacter infections are caused by Campylobacter jejuni and, to a lesser extent, C. coli; however, the increasing recognition of other emerging Campylobacter pathogens is urgently demanding a better understanding of how these underestimated species cause disease, transmit, and evolve.

Macrophage parasitism by Coxiella burnetii, the cause of human Q fever, requires translocation of proteins with effector functions directly into the host cell cytosol via a Dot/Icm type 4B secretion system (T4BSS). Secretion by the analogous Legionella pneumophila T4BSS involves signal sequences within C-terminal and internal domains of effector proteins. The cytoplasmic chaperone pair IcmSW promotes secretion and binds internal sites distinct from signal sequences.

The gene mcr-1 conferring resistance to last-line antibiotic colistin has been reported globally. Here, we describe the first detection of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Russian wildlife, an isolate of Escherichia coli sequence type 2280 from a black kite (Milvus migrans) scavenging raptor. Whole-genome sequencing and plasmid transferability experiments revealed that mcr-1.1 was located on conjugative IncI2 plasmid pDR164 (59891 bp).

Antibiotic tolerance, the ability to temporarily sustain viability in the presence of bactericidal antibiotics, constitutes an understudied and yet potentially widespread cause of antibiotic treatment failure. We have previously shown that the Gram-negative pathogen Vibrio cholerae can tolerate exposure to the typically bactericidal β-lactam antibiotics by assuming a spherical morphotype devoid of detectable cell wall material. However, it is unclear how widespread β-lactam tolerance is.

Author(s): Chia Wanq Tan, Tan Turk Hsern Malcolm, Jayasekara Mudiyanselage Krishanthi Jayarukshi Kumari Premarathne, Chia Yeung New, Chee Hao Kuan, Tze Young Thung, Wei San Chang, Yuet Ying Loo, Yaya Rukayadi, Yoshitsugu Nakaguchi, Mitsuaki Nishibuchi, Son Radu

Author(s): Zhi Ma, Rujing Zhang, Dan Hai, Zhaoxin Lu, Fengxia Lv, Haizhen Zhao, Chong Zhang, Tim A. McAllister, Kim Stanford, Xiaomei Bie

Author(s): Ines Staes, Ioannis Passaris, Alexander Cambré, Abram Aertsen

Author(s): Sophie Tongyu Wu, John Burnett, Jingjin Wang, Susan R. Hammons, Deklin R. Veenhuizen, Haley F. Oliver

Author(s): Yangqun Liu, Changlin Han, Zhiyao Chen, Dan Guo, Xiaohua Ye

Abstract

Background

Although previous studies have suggested an association between livestock exposure and the risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage in humans, it remains unclear whether there is a dose-response relationship.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between livestock exposure and MRSA carriage.